This book is a chronological telling of Machado’s experience in an abusive lesbian relationship. The relationship is symbolized by the “Dream House” which also represents a real house where the relationship took place. However, this book is about so much more than Machado’s one past relationship. It is also a well-researched history of physical, psychological, and emotional abuse in lesbian relationships. And it is a meta-narrative about the act of writing itself.

The memoir aspect of this book is written in second person, which feels totally natural, as if Machado of the present is distancing herself from Machado of the past. Second person becomes an even more fascinating stylistic choice when the book turns into a choose your own “adventure” part way through. By calling the character from her past “you” and sending the reader into a seemingly never-ending cycle of page-flipping, Machado puts the reader into a sort of psychologically abusive relationship with the book itself.

The book also often adopts an academic tone by referencing queer and feminist theory and using footnotes throughout. And finally, Machado also frequently returns back to the first person perspective to describe the process of writing this book.

The book is written in very short segments of about 1 to 5 pages. I found the text easy to get into and addictive once I started reading, even though it was a challenging read due to its sometimes academic tone and its dark, infuriating content. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in creative non-fiction and the blending of many genres. I also recommend it to EVERYONE because it clearly lays out what it’s like to live through a psychologically abusive relationship, and it especially teaches its reader how gender expectations play into our identification of abuse.